NATIONAL NEWS RECAP

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Stem cell breakthrough reported

It was an astonishing announcement: Two teams of researchers, including a scientist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reported they had reprogrammed ordinary human skin cells to behave like embryonic stem cells, seen as the key to treating a host of intractable diseases. The isolation of stem cells previously required the destruction of embryos, a method laden with ethical issues and thus heavily restricted. What's next: Testing of the cells will be risky and time-consuming, and experts said it would not entirely replace use of embryonic stem cells.

Judge opens Jena 6 trial

A judge ruled that the public and the news media should have full access to all legal proceedings involving Mychal Bell, one of the teenage defendants in the racially charged Jena 6 case in Louisiana whose prosecution had been shrouded in secrecy on orders of the trial judge. Bell and five other black teenagers face trial for the Dec. 4 beating of Justin Barker. That incident capped months of violent racial tensions in Jena. Civil rights leaders have criticized the prosecution of the black youths as excessive.

CPSC to study lead in toys

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced it had started an investigation into a variety of toys identified in a Tribune inquiry as containing levels of lead over government safety limits. Federal inspectors were collecting samples of each of the 21 toys and other children's products the Tribune found with high amounts of lead. What's next: The agency will test the samples at its laboratory; if the toys are deemed hazardous, the agency will work with manufacturers to recall them.

Court takes up gun ban

The Supreme Court agreed to hear a high-profile gun-ban case, one that may make firearm ownership a significant issue in the upcoming election year. At stake is a law that prohibits residents of Washington, D.C., from owning handguns. The justices will decide next spring whether such a ban violates the Constitution. If they rule that way, it could spell trouble for gun bans in other cities, such as Chicago.

Reading declines

The latest National Endowment for the Arts report draws on a variety of sources, public and private, and essentially reaches one conclusion: Americans are reading less. The study looked at everything from how many 9-year-olds read every day for "fun" (54 percent) to the percentage of high school graduates deemed by employers as "deficient" in writing in English (72 percent). Among the findings: The number of 17-year-olds who "never or hardly ever" read for pleasure has doubled, to 19 percent, and their comprehension scores have fallen.

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